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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Gardening is an art that has been practiced by thousands of people from several centuries in the past. It is a treat to watch a well maintained beautiful garden right outside your house. However a yard or a backyard is not in the kitty of all people. For those people who live in apartments don't have a yard to themselves. Thankfully container gardening comes in handy.

Container gardening refers to growing a variety of plants in big containers which can then be placed on a porch or on a window sill. Container gardening also consists of planter boxes, wooden barrels, large flowerpots and hanging baskets. It is seen that you are just limited by your imagination in the case of container gardening or any other type of gardening. Let's have a look at some of the issues that you should look into in the case container gardening.

1) Do avoid containers with narrow openings. This is because containers with narrow openings will not allow the plants to grow freely and also adequate sunlight may not reach the plants.2) Do not use cheap plastic pots as they deteriorate in sunlight and also refrain from buying terracotta pots also as they dry out rapidly. The best choice is glazed ceramic pots but you should make several drainage holes.3) Do not use wooden containers as they rot quickly. However wooden containers can be built of any size that you require.4) Try to use bigger pots then smaller pots. Use pots between 15 to 120 quarts capacity. The smaller pots restrict the growth of plants, especially at the root area. Many times the size and the number of plants to be grown in the container will determine the size of the container.5) Make sure that the container has adequate drainage. The holes should be at least ½ inch across to let the water drain easily.6) Use light colored or bright colored containers in hot climates so that light can pass through the containers and heat absorption is less.7) Also line hanging baskets with sphagnum moss for water retention. Don't forget to keep baskets away from the afternoon sun.8) Clay pots are porous and so water is lost easily from the sides of the container. Hence if you are going for clay pots then you should monitor the plants closely in the clay pot.

All the steps mentioned above can prove really helpful if you are seriously thinking about container gardening.